Introduction

I’ve been thinking all afternoon about my next review and was totally out of ideas! However, suddenly I remembered I hadn’t written a music review in a while so I thought I may as well write one to get me back writing again. The second problem was of course choosing the album to review! Although, this was an easy choice as at the moment Franz Ferdinand has found it’s way into my CD player and not returned to it’s case a week later!

The Band

Some of you may never heard of Franz Ferdinand or if you have you may not know much about them and their music. Well allow me if you will to firstly introduce the band. They are a four piece band fronted by Alexander Kapranos, who also plays guitar. The other guitarist is called Nicolas McCarthy. The bassist is called Robert Hardy and finally the drummer is Paul Thomson. This is in fact their debut album and has been hugely successful in both this country and across Europe and the US. This is illustrated by the fact that their up and coming tour in Europe and the US has completely sold out. This shows just how popular Franz Ferdinand have become. Personally, I have liked what I have heard by them but for some reason never really thought to buy their album. However, I listened to someone else’s copy and realised straight away I had to have it! This album is very cool and great to listen to when you want to relax. They have also recently won the Mercury Music Prize and have had lots of nominations for the up and coming Q awards.

Track by Track

Track one: Jacqueline (3:49)

The opening track to this song starts off slowly, with a vocal introduction. Then it gets going with a catchy bass riff and then the guitars join in to make this one great song. As an opener to an album, this song works in my view. It is simple and well constructed. Only criticism I would have is that the lyrics are a little repetitive. Aside from that, Jacqueline is a fitting opening to what is to come. Track rating: 8/10

Track two: Tell Her Tonight (2:17)

Tell Her Tonight is quite an unusual sounding song I think. It has quite an old feel to it and reminds me of another band but I cant quite put my finger on who it is! However, the guitar riff is great on this and it would not be out of place in the seventies I think! It is a different sound to the first song and one of the more different sounding songs on the album. Yet, at just over two minutes I feel it is a little too short. Track rating: 8/10

Track three: Take Me Out (3:57)

Well there is very little to be said about this song. I think nearly everyone will have heard this song at some point! It is one of, if not the, best songs I have heard in recent times. The guitar riff is so unbelievably catchy as are the vocals. I cannot get enough of this song and it deserves to be played very loud! It is the best known on the album and largely the best overall. Sometimes I really dislike it when albums are like that however, the quality of the album overall is still good! Track rating: 10/10

Track four: Dark Side of the Matinée (4:03)

This song has also been released from the album and if I remember rightly is the current release at the moment (though has been out for a few weeks). At first I heard this and wasn’t overly keen. However, it has grown on me a lot! In fact, the more I listen to it, the more I think what a stupid bastard you were the first time for not liking it! This too has an incredibly addictive guitar riff. The is a better structure to this song too I feel than most other stuff on the album. Has a mix of slower and faster tempo. Plus, you’ll find yourself inadvertently humming the chorus, it is a catchy song! Track rating: 9/10

Track five: Auf Achse (4:19)

What a great track this is. Once again a little more reserved and slow paced. However, the guitar work again is superb. One of the best things about this album is the way it’s pace is mixed. Take Me Out is fast and this one is reasonably slow. The tracks compliment each other. Auf Achse doesn’t exactly have a chorus you’ll find yourself humming, yet it is still a great track. It is also the longest on the album and one of only a couple that exceed 4 minutes. Track rating: 8.5/10

Track six: Cheating on You (2:36)

Once again the whole concept of speed on this album is shown. This track is fast paced and really good. However it is a complete opposite to the previous track! Whereas that was slow in all the right places, this one is fast! They are similar, however by the fact that neither has a particularly catchy chorus that you’ll be singing all day. Despite that, this is a quality song, fitting in handsomely with the rest of the album! Only criticism I have is that it is too short! Track rating: 8.5/10

Track seven: This Fire (4:14)

This in fact is one of my favourite tracks on the entire album. The chorus of this song is unbelievably catchy and you will certainly find yourself humming along to this one! Like I said I really like this song and in a similar way to Matinee, it has a good mix I feel between pace and slower movement. I must also say that this kicks off on of the finest ends to an album I have heard! Very upbeat and a winner for me. Track rating: 9/10

Track eight: Darts of Pleasure (2:59)

This song is too short, especially given the quality it possesses. Yet again we see a fantastic mix of speeds within the song and also a very cool bass solo! This a tune that gets your foot tapping and you will soon find yourself humming along to this also! Despite all this however, the song is about a minute too short in my view! An extra minute of the great guitar riffs in this one would have put this up with the best on the album. However, it declines into middle order. Track rating: 8.5/10

Track nine: Michael (3:21)

Undoubtedly, this is one of my favourite songs on the album. A touch on the short side yet again but still full of great quality. I love the guitar riff in this song. I was walking home today singing it in my head subconsciously really! This adds also to what I said about the end of this album being a fine one. The song itself, starts nicely with a cool guitar part along with the bass. Then, the drums come in and give it a real kick. Once the vocals start, the song is already in full flow. This is also one of the heaviest on the album too. All-in-all, a great tune! Track rating: 9/10

Track ten: Come on Home (3:46)

This is a lot like Michael in its structure, though different in sound. I like this one but I prefer Michael (just). The song starts with guitar and bass introduction, then the vocals come in. It is a little bit more melodic than some of the other tracks and I think this helps the song. The guitar work is great again and the chorus is another catchy one! This is one of the best constructed songs in the album, especially with use of guitars. I’m no expert but it is possibly the best musically. Anyways as an all round tune, it is not best but still very good. Track rating: 8.5/10

Track eleven: 40’ (3:24)

This is the last track on the album and a great one to finish with. It starts with a superb guitar riff and then the speed and sound kind of peaks and troughs. Once again it is quite an unusual sound given the rest of the album. Nevertheless it is cool ending and signs off what is a quality album. Track rating 8.5/10

Overall

I really liked this album and in fact I was surprised how good it was. Only criticism I would have as you can probably guess is that the album is too short. It needed a couple more tracks. Nevertheless, I’ll definitely be looking out for their next release, whenever that may be! They are part of a group of new British bands that are producing some real quality music. This album was well worth its Mercury Prize victory. Franz Ferdinand are on tour soon and my regret is that I did not buy this album sooner so I could catch them at one of their gigs! Ah well, I’m sure there will be others! Plus I’m off to see the Manics and REM in next few months so I have plenty on! Oh yeah one last thing, buy this album!

Thanks for reading!

Check them out on the web at www.franzferdinand.co.uk.